The American Fall The American Falls Beavers opened the season with a dominant victory at home against a Soda Springs squad that had a new quarterback and a first-year coach.
Zak Grigg’s six-touchdown performance and a strong defensive performance helped the Beavers (1-0, 0-0) easily defeat the Cardinals (0-1,0-0) 47-0.
Tim Hoppe, the head coach, admitted to feeling a little anxious in the weeks before Friday night’s season opener. However, for an odd reason.
“This was the best practice performance I’ve ever seen from a team,” he remarked. I felt uneasy about it.
His Beavers were excellent in every aspect of their first game, forcing three turnovers and scoring scores on seven of ten drives.
Early in the second half, Caleb Hansen, the Beavers’ senior wide receiver, recovers from a muff. | Photo courtesy of
Moving Grigg from running back, where he was selected to the All-State team the previous season, to quarterback, where he hadn’t played since his freshman year, was a choice that most head coaches would find difficult to accept. That choice was influenced by a discussion Grigg remembers having during track practice.
According to Grigg, Hoppe clarified that a transfer would help his team and himself.
Knowing that I can still go out there and play my best football gave me a lot of confidence, Grigg remarked.
Grigg completed 11 of 24 ball attempts for 161 yards and four touchdowns in his first game as a varsity signal-caller. He added 34 rushing yards and two more touchdowns, though, because he is still the team’s fastest player and a sprinter.
After the game, Grigg remarked, “I’ve been playing quarterback since I was a kid; it felt natural.” It’s just an incredible feeling to be able to do that with these guys in your life.
A couple open receivers were overthrown by Grigg, who Hoppe claimed had the best arm talent he had ever coached during camp. but he made a number of long plays, such as a 22-yard touchdown pass to Tripp Wagstaff in the third quarter.
“I hope I put on a good show of quarterback play for those in attendance,” Grigg said, adding that “being able to come out and throw some good balls really boosts your confidence and makes you feel good.” When you have guys that will dive for a catch or get in a sideline catch, it makes things much easier.
Grigg completed passes to five different receivers, effectively spreading the ball around.
But his go-to guys were fellow seniors Kahlen Hernandez and Gavin Adamson.
Hernandez hauled in four passes for 85 yards and one touchdown, while Adamson finished the game with four catches for 42 yards and a touchdown, adding 21 rushing yards.
In the last minutes of the game, Armando Ledesma completed the scoring with an 11-yard receiving score.
Senior Brian Lopez took over Grigg’s workhorse responsibilities from the previous season. Lopez scored 81 yards on 12 carries, including the game’s lone touchdown that was not given to Grigg.
We have weapons everywhere, as evidenced by the fact that five different players scored touchdowns today. Regarding his offense, Hoppe remarked, “Good luck stopping us.”
Alexander Fangman, quarterback for Soda Springs, tosses while running. | Courtesy photo
The defensive effort put out by American Falls may have been even more remarkable given the offensive display.
The Beavers were facing a new coach who was brought in from out of state, and they knew very little about the strategy they would be playing. Colby Fangman, the first-year head coach of the Cardinals, also added his son, junior Alexander Fangman, as a quarterback to the Soda Springs roster.
Several days prior to the game, Hoppe told EastIdahoSports.com that he had little to go on and that his defensive strategy was to just hope his guys gave it their all, which would allow him to make last-minute adjustments.
The players fulfilled their end of the agreement, and those changes happened quickly.
Alexander gained 19 yards on his first three pass attempts. He was intercepted twice after that and was only true on seven of 25 attempts for 29 yards.
The American Falls lineman, which includes two exceptional sophomores, dominated the game on both sides.
According to Hoppe, senior Fred Murillo entered the season with expectations as a punter, placekicker, defensive lineman, and offensive lineman.
Jesus Sanchez, however, didn’t. According to Hoppe, the first football game Sanchez ever played was actually one year ago on Friday. He was in charge of laying the groundwork for the offensive onslaught as the starting left tackle. Sanchez also caused the Cardinals a lot of trouble at defensive tackle.
Hoppe remarked of Sanchez, “He had that other quarterback running for his life all night long.”
Breckin Barclay, who started fall camp with the JV team but has now earned a starting spot with the varsity team, is comparable.
Grigg praised the team, which was led by two sophomores, saying, “Our defense is unreal.”
Next weekend, Soda Springs will return on the road to play the Ririe Bulldogs in an attempt to get Colby Fangman’s first victory in Idaho.
American Falls will prepare for the Reservoir Rivalry game in Aberdeen the following weekend after their significant victory.
Including two low-scoring contests the previous two seasons by a total six points, the Tigers have won the last 12 regular-season meetings.
However, Hoppe thinks the Beavers’ explosive offense will turn the tide.
During his fourth season as head coach at American Falls, Hoppe stated, “We always want to get that dub over Aberdeen, but it hasn’t come yet.” Since that’s what we’ve been lacking, I believe this is the offense we need to defeat them.
